Perfect Boy Evolution!
by Carys Langley
Summary: Tezuka x Fuji. In which Fuji is incredibly popular, and Tezuka is incredibly...not. Fuji is appalled. /Involves tennis, somewhat AU/
1. Chapter 1

_**General Disclaimer: **Prince of Tennis belongs to the almighty Konomi-sensei. Not moi. Fortunately. I don't even own the title._

**A/N: **So I probably have too many fics out all at once, but they keep popping up like bunnies! (no puns intended.) This one was taken from my list of bunnies, and though it's not the most popular one, it's one that got inspired first. So. yeah. And I won't have time to update much after August, so I'm putting up enough stuff so that you guys won't miss me too much. xD.

**Birthday!:** Dedicated to Se-No-News For her Birthday!! Happy 19th, oneesan!! And Happy Taiwanese Father's Day just because hehe.

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**Chapter 1**

* * *

If you set foot on the Seishun University campus, and randomly stop a passerby to ask who Fuji Syusuke was, you'd get a funny look. Fuji Syusuke was a legend on campus, even the people who didn't know any better could tell you that Fuji was a senior, a photography major, with a minor in almost everything else. And then they'd probably tell you other things too, but that depended on who you asked.

Ask any professor, Fuji Syusuke was the perfect student, he got every assignment in on time, and though he never went out of his way to turn anything in early, everything was on time. If anything was late, he usually had a damned good reason.

Ask anyone in the nerd/geek clique, they would have told you that Fuji was a prodigy, one of those kinds that came along in twenty years. Any girl, Fuji was an idol to them with that gorgeous smile, he dressed in the latest fashions and looked good in whatever he put on, he probably looked just as good naked.

But very few girls ever saw Fuji Syusuke naked. So they continued dreaming.

Ask anyone who liked to party, and they would have told you that Fuji Syusuke threw the best parties. In fact, he was having one tonight, come along and see.

But if you were to ask them who Tezuka Kunimitsu was, they would have rolled their eyes.

_Oh, **him**._

They would have smiled at you because you were misguided and that couldn't be helped.

_He's no one._

_-_

Fuji Syusuke was twenty-three, he would have been more accurate and said seven and three quarters, but that just confused everybody. Not that he didn't like confusing everyone but explaining the precise reason of why he was seven and three quarters was always blown out of proportion, even though the answer was beyond simple. So he simply made everyone's life easier and said 23.

But Fuji honestly preferred being seven and three quarters, when you were that old, you were just starting to wean off of Santa Clause. Though Fuji never believed in Santa because he had caught his sister putting presents under the tree when he was just three. Yumiko had been young too, and she hadn't been inconspicuous enough.

Fuji did not believe in Santa Clause, but he believed in karma, for every good, there was a bad. Somewhere, probably not nearby, but it was there. Fuji considered himself to be an extraordinarily lucky person, and he considered his current state of popularity to be a parasitic virus. It infected anyone and everyone who dared to follow him. He had quite a large following, and Fuji was sure he could have started his own cult if he wished.

Of course he had no such wish.

But everyone who stayed close to him did tend to suffer strange misfortunes, like it was a curse. Bad luck always missed him by a mere inch and went onto torment someone else.

Nowadays, that someone else seemed to be his roommate, Tezuka Kunimitsu. Tezuka never smiled, ever, and Fuji always wondered if it was the lack of luck that made Tezuka refuse to smile. If it was, Fuji was sorry. He would have liked to see Tezuka smile.

They'd been roommates for all four years of university, and acquaintances for even longer before that. Fuji hesitated to use the word 'friend' because it seemed that Tezuka wouldn't approve of such a casual title. For all the years he had known Tezuka, Fuji had known him to have plenty of acquaintances, no friends. None whatsoever.

Maybe this was what made Tezuka immensely unpopular among his peers on campus. Everyone wanted to be everyone else's friend, and then you had Tezuka. Who always managed to be alone somehow, no matter where he was. in class, in the middle of one of Fuji's legendary parties, no matter where, Tezuka stood alone. (Actually the latter was easy to do, All Tezuka had to do was lock himself in his room and not come out, which he did.)

Honestly, this didn't make any sense to Fuji. He couldn't understand why Tezuka didn't want to be popular, if anyone was in the position to be popular and well-liked, it was Tezuka, he was Fuji Syusuke's roommate after all.

But to have Fuji Syusuke and Tezuka Kunimitsu under the same roof did not seem to help the latter's social standings. It only served to heighten the differences between them, Fuji was the social elitist, Tezuka was just a hopelessly anti-social guy. That was all. In fact, for all of Fuji's efforts to bring his roommate out into the limelight, all of it ended in failure.

Some of his more daring disciples had even asked him why he was rooming with such a geek.

For such transgressions, Fuji's smile wasn't quite so beautiful.

Besides, he liked Tezuka. True, the guy was anti-social to a fault and honestly, if you wanted to have a conversation with him, you were better off talking to a wall, at least a wall didn't offer you a silence that was so deadly awkward. His roommate was responsible, never late on rent, and unlike a wall, he listened, he made little nods and twitches and things so that you knew he was listening.

Perhaps this was why no one ever ventured to talk to Tezuka. Fuji liked it, this time, he could keep Tezuka to himself. Tezuka was actually quite good looking when he cared to let his guard down, when he was without his glasses, or when he was shirtless after a shower. Fuji considered both a privilege.

"Party tonight?"

Fuji paused, he was unwrapping a stack of napkins. Napkins, beer, and a good host were all you needed for a party, he was glad that he had all three. Oh, and a crowd of people to attend, but that was never a problem. He turned to face Tezuka, who looked fresh from a shower. Fuji let himself look before turning back to the napkins.

"Yeah, party tonight." Fuji confirmed with a casual shrug. "Will you be around?"

"I think I'll go to the library." Tezuka said, "I have a research paper due soon, it's best to get it done."

"And not let your guard down." Fuji finished with a smile.

Tezuka paused. "Yes. That." He paused again, "Will you promise to leave my room alone?"

Fuji considered, the last party had left Tezuka's room in shambles, it wasn't exactly his doing, it was just, too many people got drunk that night, Fuji himself had gotten a little too tipsy, and things had obviously gone out of hand.

"Saa, I don't know. Lock your door, I'll make sure they don't break it down. It's the least I can do."

"Fair enough, I"ll remember to do that when I leave. When does the party start?"

Fuji shrugged again. "I don't know, they start showing up anytime they feel like." It was true, Fuji's parties never started and never ended with a set time, it was just whatever the people felt like coming and leaving, he ran a loose democracy, as far as parties went. "Around eight, maybe."

It was barely six, Tezuka relaxed visibly and put down his bag.

"Then I think I'll eat before I go."

Fuji smiled at his friend and shook his head, "I'll make you something." he put the stack of napkins down and turned toward the refrigerator "What would you like?"

He heard footsteps, and when Fuji took in a deep breath, he breathed in the faint scent of lotion.

"Something with no hot sauce."

Fuji smiled, he took another deep breath, the lotion smelled familiar. "My lotion?" He inquired without turning around.

"Aa."

"Smells good on you." And Fuji meant it, the lotion did smell good on Tezuka surprisingly. "Would you mind yesterday's leftovers? I promise I won't douse anything with hot sauce."

It was an amused little growl that finally released from Tezuka's throat. Perhaps it wasn't a growl, but Tezuka wasn't the type of man to be elegant when it came to something like this. Tezuka said, "...I don't mind hot sauce, I mind it in excess."

"Of course you do."

There was an awkward silence. More awkward than ones they usually shared. Such moments reminded Fuji in the worst way that he was really out of Tezuka's league.

At last, Fuji put a bowl of rice on the table. He left the silence well alone, Tezuka would break it on his own when he was ready. He poured curry over the rice and got a pair of chopsticks from the drawer.

And then he set the bowl in front of Tezuka with his usual smile and sat. Still, Tezuka did not say anything. Fuji didn't mind though, when it came to a relationship with Tezuka Kunimitsu, one needed lots of patience.

Then, "Thank you, Fuji."

"You're welcome. Want anything to drink?"

"It's all right."

Fuji went back to arranging his napkins and said, before the silence could collect dust again, "You should stay for the party today. It's small, and you know everyone. Think of it as a time to relax before taking the exams."

"With the exams so close, don't you think studying is a better way to pass time?"

Fuji smiled, "Are you implying that I need to study?"

Tezuka looked, "Everyone needs to study sometimes. Even people like us."

It was useless to argue with Tezuka on a subject matter like this. Fuji gave a little smile this time with a helpless edge. "Like I said...it's a small party. Loosen up once in a while. I only invited people I know that won't fail exams."

"Will Oshitari be here?"

Oshitari Yuushi was Fuji's boyfriend, he was probably popular enough in his own right, and his parties were almost as good as Fuji's, except not quite. Tezuka had never liked Oshitari, and Fuji wondered why. He nodded. "Yeah, he will, but it's not like he'll bring his own friends over. I stressed that point this time."

"Well, I'll think about it." Tezuka said vaguely.

"Ryoma will be here too. Actually."

At the mention of Ryoma, Tezuka looked up, a mild expression mixed with both horror and amusement panned across his face for a few seconds. And then it was gone and he turned back to his food, "You do realize that Echizen's coming will further strengthen my resolve to go to the library?"

Fuji shook his head, "Just because he likes you doesn't mean you have to keep avoiding him like the plague..."

"I really would not rather him like me. I told you before, Fuji." Tezuka said sharply as he stood up. "You should tell him to get that ridiculous idea out of his head. Stop encouraging him."

"Why is it ridiculous? Ryoma is good for you." Fuji looked at him, "You'll officially become a socialite if you two start going together. I think you'd be a happier person for it."

Tezuka was silent. And this silence was heavy. "Fuji." He said, the single word sounding altogether resigned. "Let me ask you something. Do you like Oshitari?"

"Of course I do, he's my boyfriend." Fuji answered easily, "Why?"

"If...if you had feelings for someone that was not Oshitari and you were forced to date Oshitari anyway, would you want that?"

"Well...I guess I wouldn't then. If you really put it like that." Fuji gave in after a moment of thought, "What's with you all of the sudden? Getting all philosophical on me?"

"Nothing." Tezuka said, "Nothing, I think I"ll go to the library." He picked up his bag and slung it over one shoulder. "Have a fun party."

"For some reason, you sound _so_ enthusiastic about a damned research paper.." Fuji sighed, "I'll convince you one day. Remember to lock your door before you leave."


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:** So hello and welcome to Perfect Boy Evolution! Chapter 2, this story is so fun to write (as long as writer's block stays far, far away -waves stick.) For those of you still waiting for Lost Fantasies to be updated, don't worry, it will, it just is going through some revisions, I promise I have not given up on it. And yes, I did kinda steal the plot from Wallflower, but it's not Wallflower so don't worry. In this chapter, I've added some subtle tango pair because I'm trying to decide if I like them or not...eh, and yeah. That's about it, I guess.

**Question: **What's Oshitari's sister's name? I haven't read the manga, because reading such a long manga online is a bitch. It's just really annoying to write it as 'Oshitari's sister' all the time, and I rather not make up a name unless I absolutely have to. So if you know, please tell me!

**Shameless YGO plug: **Err...like bold text says, this is a shameless Yu-Gi-Oh plug. Feel free to skip if you don't like shameless plugs. My cousin put up her beautiful Prideshipping story on my account, so if you have a chance. Go check it out! it's a great piece of dramatic angst.

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**Chapter 2**

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"Tezuka ran away again, didn't he?" Oshitari Yuushi sounded supremely amused as he followed his boyfriend to the kitchen to fetch more beer. It was getting to be midnight and the party, even with a smaller crowd than usual, it showed no signs of diminishing early. "Pity, Echizen's sitting there all alone again."

Fuji chewed his lip thoughtfully. "Maybe it was a bad thing that I did?"

"Don't blame yourself like that, Syusuke, you know that it's impossible to know these things, genius or not. Besides, you didn't force Echizen on Tezuka—or, no, actually you kind of did. But it's not like it's your fault because Echizen's sitting there like some lovesick puppy."

"You're horrible, Yuushi."

"Shoot me for trying to make you feel better." Oshitari shrugged, as he opened the fridge, "But I could have sworn the library closed at ten."

"It did."

"So is Tezuka spending the night at the library?"

"Maybe." Fuji shrugged, "I wouldn't put it past him."

"Don't you worry about him?" Oshitari pressed, although tactfully.

Fuji bit his lip again, "...I should. But Tezuka's not the type of person that inspires worry. He's all right. If he's not camping out at the library, he's probably hiding out at Atobe's place."

"Atobe?" Oshitari looked surprised, "I thought he'd be here."

"Yeah well." Fuji was grinning, "School night, remember? Sanada keeps him under house arrest."

"Oh, right. I forget. You do that to me, you know."

Fuji rolled his eyes, "Yuushi, if you feed me any more sappy lines like the lovesick schoolgirl that I know you really are, I swear I'm going to throw up." He even backed up his threat by moving over to the sink.

"Must we be so drastic?" Oshitari grinned as he gathered Fuji into his arms, and pressed his lips to his boyfriend's neck, "I'll make it up to you if you're really so angry..." So saying, he slipped one of his hands under Fuji's shirt and roamed until --

A whine inevitably escaped Fuji's lips, "...Yuushi...you al—you always _have_ to take the most inappropriate times to--"

"I can't help it." Oshitari smirked, "I find you delectable."

A slight clink to the kitchen counter pulled Fuji effectively from his haze. He had heard the same clink many times before. It was the clink of Tezuka's keys. Which meant that Tezuka had returned. There was a thump, too. Tezuka's bag.

"I think your guests are thirsty." And then finally, Tezuka's voice.

It wasn't that Fuji was ashamed of Oshitari, no, it wasn't anything like that at all. He wriggled out of his boyfriend's grasp, only because he knew how awkward it was for Tezuka to watch them grope in the kitchen. Now, if some other (un?)lucky person had walked in on them, he would have let Oshitari continue.

But Tezuka...Tezuka had an uncanny knack for walking into the middle of some opportune moment and failed to enjoy any one. Fuji just smiled at him, "Saa, I'm sorry, Yuushi was distracting me. Did you finish your paper?"

"Most of it, some parts need to be revised."

Fuji looked at his roommate again, and because he was adept at reading people that refused to be read, (why was Tezuka the only one in this category?) he had the feeling that Tezuka wanted to say something else...but of course he couldn't say it with Oshitari present. Else, why would he bring up something so trivial?

Tezuka was never trivial. Unless there was something else he wanted.

"Yuushi, I think Tezuka might be right, we did keep our guests waiting." He gestured to the six packs that had gone momentarily forgotten, "Do me a favor and take these out?" After sparing Tezuka another glance, Fuji added, "And make sure Ryoma doesn't come in the kitchen?"

Oshitari rolled his eyes, but Fuji knew the other was very amused, "You know, Tezuka, if you keep playing hard to get, it's just going to make Echizen think that he needs to come on stronger."

Tezuka colored, just very slightly, and he pressed his lips tight together.

"Yuushi..."

"All right, all right. Just adding my two cents..."

-

"How can you stand him?"

Fuji stood still at the kitchen counter. The question cut through the indistinct gurgle he heard in the living room. There were cheers, a few insults, and general cheeriness because more beer had finally been delivered. Fuji's head swam, just a little. And to his rather fuzzy mind, Tezuka almost sounded jealous, "Yuushi's a sweetheart...most times. When he's not, he's just a sappy schoolgirl."

Tezuka said nothing.

"Tezuka?"

"Nothing. I want a beer."

Tezuka didn't drink often, Fuji knew that, because Tezuka played tennis. Well, so did Fuji, so did Oshitari, so did Ryoma, who only joined the team to snag Tezuka's attention, but that was irrelevant to his current thought. Tezuka was the only athlete that Fuji knew of that was uptight about drinking. He was about to cross over to get a can from the fridge when he decided that trying his luck wouldn't hurt. "There's beer in the living room."

"Echizen's out there."

Fuji said, "He's half drunk like everyone else, he probably won't notice you. Stop being so stubborn."

What happened next wasn't entirely clear because Fuji was just a bit tipsy, but he could have sworn that Tezuka had moved right next to him in less than an instant, and for a long moment, he stared at his roommate's face inches away from his own, and Tezuka's breath was moist on his skin. Was he...that close?

He was.

But then he wasn't.

Tezuka got himself a beer from the fridge, "You're just as stubborn as I am. Is my room all right?"

"Your room is fine." Fuji's head was still swirling, maybe he was more drunk than he thought he was.

Tezuka left the kitchen. Fuji heard a door open and close.

A moment passed. Fuji shook himself and rejoined the crowd. He settled himself comfortably on Oshitari's lap and took a sip from his boyfriend's beer.

Echizen, who was reaching for another beer, looked up and watched him, "Fuji-senpai, where's buchou?"

In his room, Fuji almost said, but didn't. He shrugged, "Tezuka said he had a headache."

-

1 AM

And his living room, for the most part, was fine, except for a few stains on the carpet here and there. Just a moment ago, his last guests, Oshitari and Ryoma respectively had ambled out fairly drunk, and he sincerely hoped that they weren't going to crash.

He was now sprawled out on his couch, Fuji guessed he was drunk enough to deem the couch comfortable.

"You're not going to sleep on the couch, are you?"

Fuji opened one eye, "...Yuushi?"

"No, Tezuka."

"Oh, Tezuka." Fuji grinned in the general direction of the hazy figure. "Hi, Tezuka. The couch is comfortable. Want to join me?" He stretched out his arms in invitation.

"You're drunk."

"Tipsy." Fuji pouted.

Tezuka sighed, "You're impossible." He approached the couch and grabbed Fuji's arms, "Come on, get up and go to bed. You can't be that drink."

"I told you I was tipsy, I'm just too lazy to get up..." Fuji lay perfectly still and grinned up at him.

"Get up." Tezuka repeated. "You're going to get a cramp. If this causes you to miss tennis practice tomorrow, I won't forgive you."

"Mou, Tezuka is _mean_."

"I'm not."

Drunk, tipsy, whatever Fuji was, he was definitely not sober, and Tezuka knew he was not going to get anywhere trying to reason with someone not sober. He changed tactics and gathered Fuji up in his arms, the other was surprisingly light.

Fuji giggled and hid his face in the crook of Tezuka's neck.

"Ne, Tezuka, you smell nice."

It tickled. Having Fuji so close was a frightening sensation. It was best to get it over with as quickly as possible. Tezuka turned down the hallway and when he reached Fuji's room; somehow, he managed to open the door without letting Fuji fall.

Tezuka set his roommate down on the bed. Fuji fell back against the mattress and giggled some more. He raised one hand and combed through Tezuka's hair, twisting one particularly unruly lock around his finger.

"Tezuka's hair is nice and soft."

Tezuka stared down into hazy blue eyes, and then --

Fuji kissed him.

And giggled.

"Tezuka was oddly warm all over, and when he looked down, Fuji was still giggling.

Getting out of Fuji's room was suddenly a good idea. It had always been. Tezuka practically ran.

-

"And what the hell happened to you, Did you get run over by a truck?" Atobe Keigo peered over at him curiously, "Did you get run over by a truck?" The question was repeated after a moment of silence.

Tezuka stared down at his hands; he almost wished that he was run over by a truck, a truck made everything simpler. He tapped his racket absently against one knee, "...Does it look that bad?"

He felt Atobe's eyes on him, studying him, "No, as far as I can tell, no bruises, but...you look traumatized. Are you sure you're up for running practice today?"

"Of course."

Atobe made a sound in his throat that sounded mildly disbelieving. After a while, Sanada Genichirou joined them in the bleachers and with his arrival, Tezuka was demoted to third wheel, again. He was the third wheel a lot lately, and even though he didn't exactly mind...it was just a little bit annoying.

Which was saying a lot since Tezuka didn't find a whole lot of things annoying.

"Yanagi said his grandmother got sick, so he went back home, he won't be back until the end of this week...he apologizes." Sanada told him.

Tezuka nodded, his eyes on the courts, most of the underclassmen had shown up already, and had taken the initiative to start their daily stretches. Which left only Fuji, Oshitari, and Echizen Ryoma.

"Hi, buchou."

Tezuka thought too soon. As their youngest club member stared at him, Tezuka knew that Atobe was smirking and Sanada was probably trying his best not to join in. He gave a neutral nod, "Echizen."

"Is your headache better?"

Headache? Had he had a headache? Tezuka wasn't quite sure, but he could definitely feel a headache coming on. "I don't know what you're talking about." He stood up, "Quit standing around, we're late in starting practice."

Echizen's face fell, and Tezuka turned away. Atobe was still sniggering, and Sanada was biting his lip.

"Atobe, 50 laps."

"Tyrant." But Atobe was still smirking as he got up and jogged towards the track.

Fuji and Oshitari never did arrive for practice.

-

Fuji was sitting at the table, going over some photos, when he heard the door open and slam. He waited for the clink and there was none.

"If you needed to skip practice, at least have the decency to tell me."

Fuji looked up, "I called you, your phone wasn't on."

Tezuka immediately dug out his phone, indeed, the screen flashed: 3 missed calls.

"See?" Fuji smiled, "Come on, now, don't be so mad, I threw up this morning, so I decided not to go. Yuushi took care of me, that's why he wasn't there either."

'What did I tell you' came to mind, but after Fuji had said 'thrown up,' Tezuka reconsidered. "Where's Oshitari now?"

"He went home." Fuji said, turning back to the photos. "He had stuff to do and I had stuff to do."

"But aren't you still not feeling well? Why didn't you tell me earlier before I left?" Guilt was a strange emotion.

"Saa, you were gone when I woke up." Fuji shrugged, "Besides, didn't your exams start today? It'd be inconsiderate of me if I kept you from exams. Mine don't start until Thursday. Did I miss anything for practice?"

"Not much. Atobe got 50 laps."

"Why?"

Tezuka looked at Fuji, hard, the smile was the same, innocently curious. Maybe Fuji had been drunk enough yesterday to not remember. He had thrown up...after all. Maybe he didn't remember. But the thought of it made Tezuka's lips burn. "It was a misunderstanding."

"Oh." Fuji didn't look convinced, but he let it go, "Have you eaten?"

"Not yet. Have you?"

"No. I'm going to eat when I go on my date, though."

"With Oshitari?" There was that third wheel feeling. Again.

Fuji grinned, "No, silly. With you."


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: **It's so fun writing airhead Tezuka,! (I got giddy xD) but I hope I still kept him in character. Thanks for all the reviews and a special thanks to **vierblith **for reccing PBE on LJ. I hope you all enjoy. (And I hope this makes up for the lack of TezukaFuji goodness in Lost Fantasies -.-;;;.

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**Chapter 3**

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Well.

That just totally went over his head.

Tezuka could only blink and stare, "But...Oshitari...what do you mean that you're..." Now he was just sounding pathetic. Tezuka pursed his mouth shut, and waited for an explanation. Waiting was better than sounding like a complete idiot altogether.

"Calm down, will you?" Fuji only laughed, as he stretched, as Fuji stretched, Tezuka found himself accidentally mesmerized by the few precious inches of bare perfect skin. The deeply private recesses of his mind told him that he was being a pervert, but his eyes refused to budge even with that reprimand in mind.

"...So I just thought I'd take you out so that you won't be mad at me...Tezuka, are you listening to me?"

Tezuka blinked again, "Sorry?"

"What's with you?" Fuji wondered, "Exams gone to your head? It's only the first day..."

"No, I'm just..." Tezuka shook himself, "...Tired." Yes, exhaustion was a convenient excuse. "I couldn't exactly sleep or study with your party making a racket last night." Which was only partially true.

"So it's my fault?"

Tezuka found that he couldn't bring himself to agree.

But then Fuji smiled at him; a disarming smile that was to Tezuka, all things. "Whatever, let's just go and have a nice dinner, okay? I made reservations for seven, that gives you just about enough time to shower." His lips twitched again, "Try not to smell like the locker room when you come back out. I bought new lotion."

Fuji was insufferable.

But Tezuka too, got up, suddenly very self-conscious. "You made a reservation?"

"Yes. You look surprised."

Tezuka was. Fuji wasn't one for planning. Tezuka always assumed that a date with Fuji would include lots of spontaneity, though it wouldn't be frantic, it would just be an evening of unexpected...fun. Fuji always made things fun. It wasn't exactly something that was familiar to Tezuka, however.

But the fact that Fuji actually thought to plan for him, was endearing. "Where are we going?"

Fuji smiled again, beautiful and alluring. "Secret." He put on finger to his lips, "Now go and take a shower, you're dawdling and we might be late."

-

Fuji had bought new lotion. Without knowing exactly why, Tezuka had used it. He wished he hadn't, because now he smelled strongly of warm vanilla. (How something could smell 'warm' was beyond Tezuka's logic.) Since Fuji had made a reservation, he figured a dress shirt and khakis sufficed for the occasion.

Fuji met him in the living room, and he had dressed too. He had changed out of his sleepwear to jeans and also a dress shirt. Since Tezuka mostly did all of the laundry while Fuji took care of cooking, he took pride in knowing Fuji's wardrobe, although he had never seen that particular shirt on Fuji, or in the laundry. It had to be new.

"Yuushi bought it for me." Fuji's voice cut smoothly into his thoughts, "Do you like it?"

Tezuka was tempted to say no. For no reason at all, other than the fact that it had been Oshitari that bought the shirt. But looking twice, he saw that like everything else that Oshitari bought Fuji, the shirt was ultimately flattering and...he stopped his thoughts right there. "I like it. It's...fitting."

"Oh," Fuji looked quite surprised, "...I didn't you'd like it, but Yuushi said you would, so...I guess he was right. He bought it especially for our date today."

There it was again. Date. A 'date' to Tezuka implied that two people who were romantically involved were getting together and going out to eat. Which...he and Fuji...were not.

"Why do you keep calling it that?"

"What?"

"A date. We're not dating."

Fuji pouted, "Do you _not_ want to date me?"

"I..." Tezuka faltered, that wasn't the point. The point was that Fuji had a boyfriend, and therefore, was not eligible for a date. The fact that Tezuka...wouldn't mind going on a date with Fuji had nothing to do with it. None whatsoever.

"Whatever." Fuji stepped forward and took his hand, "You can find me repulsive all you want, but you're still stuck with me for tonight, _Kunimitsu_."

-

Kunimitsu. Tezuka found himself wondering what that meant, again. What it was, that was simple. Kunimitsu was his name, just a name that no one used. Because he had never allowed anyone to feel comfortable enough to use it, not even Atobe and Sanada, whom he considered to be 'friends'. What the name meant, when the name was called...that was not so simple.

But Fuji, Fuji seemed to be in a class all his own, the name had slipped past his lips with such ease, as if he had been saying it all his life. And Tezuka found that he liked hearing it. The knowledge was just slightly alarming.

"Hello? Tezuka, I'm talking to you."

Back to Tezuka again, he was relieved. Even though hearing 'Kunimitsu' was pleasant, 'Tezuka' was reassuring because it was what Fuji had always called him.

"Pardon?"

The 'surprise' restaurant turned out to be Giovanni's, Italian, one of Atobe's personal favorites, Tezuka had only been here once, the only thing that he remembered was his jaw dropped after seeing the price of the meal. Atobe, of course, had wrote the check with his usual flourish and a smirk.

There was no way Fuji could afford this.

But Fuji was smiling at him from across the table. "I asked you what you wanted from the winelist." Then he added, as an afterthought, "Twice."

"You're drinking?" Tezuka frowned, "Didn't you just get sick this morning?"

"They just give you a shot glass for a toast." Fuji gave him a look, which led to the waiter giving him a weird look too. "I'll be fine."

"I'll just...have what you're having."

Fuji spoke briefly to the waiter and the waiter nodded. Ice water was poured for them both, and menus were left for them to peruse. The waiter disappeared.

"Fuji, why are we here?" Tezuka made sure that the waiter was completely out of sight before he spoke, "...Did you get a raise at work? How can you afford this?" Fuji worked part time at a local studio, and every time he got a raise, he celebrated in the most spontaneous of ways. But this time was the first time that Tezuka had been personally involved. For only a pay raise, this seemed too extravagant.

Fuji heaved a long, heavy sigh, "You are impossible."

Funny how Tezuka had said the same words the night before. Though obviously the context differed.

Fuji held up one slender finger. "I guess I can't put anything past you, after all." He turned a page of his menu. "Rule number one, don't ask your date how he's going to pay for food. Though, of course, if you're paying for the meal, feel free to ask all you want." He grinned, "Shame on you, I thought you'd been taught better. Asking me something like that it just plain rude."

Tezuka wondered who was impossible. "Then why are we here?"

"I'm proving a few points." Fuji looked at him calmly, "I take you out to a nice restaurant, and the first thing you ask me is how I'm going to pay for this. You don't even thank me. No wonder you never get any dates." He sighed, "Fine, see, it's like this. When you were gone, Yuushi came over and we had a talk."

"About?"

"You, obviously. The exams have really gotten to your head." Fuji said, "We decided that it's not good for you to mope around and spend all your time at the library, so we're going to make a few changes."

"Changes?" Tezuka was beginning to feel a little bit uneasy. He didn't like change, he liked routine, things staying the same. Changes inspired...things he rather not think about.

"Well, Yuushi and I decided that you weren't social because you weren't given a lot of opportunities to ease into a social situation. So we're changing that."

Tezuka was beginning to hate the word 'change'. He was going to stab it the next time it dared to come up...somehow. "How?"

The waiter came by and poured wine. And then Fuji sent him away and grinned again. Tezuka found that he disliked Fuji's grin, his smile was something else. "You'll see. First, let's toast. I picked a good year, I think." So saying, he lifted his glass, "Let's see...to you, so that you may prosper and be happy all your life."

After a moment's pause, Tezuka too, lifted up his glass. With that face, it was hard to tell if Fuji was serious or not, but the toast was certainly nice to hear. "...To you," He said, his own words sounding awkward, "So that you may continue to be brilliant in all things." _Like you already are._

"Do you really think that?"

Fuji was laughing at him again. But Tezuka found that he was not ashamed of what he had just admitted. "Yes."

"Thank you." Fuji said, "When I'm finished with you, though. You'll be just as brilliant." He tilted his head slightly and tucked a stray strand of hair behind his ear. "You're one of those...what do you call it?--oh, I remember, diamonds in the rough."

Fuji called him a diamond. Tezuka felt his entire body grow warm, and before his cheeks could betray him in the worst way possible, he excused himself.

-

When Tezuka returned, there was a warm pot of something sitting on the table. "What's this?"

"Shrimp Scampi, I thought you'd like it, and since you're right about my not being able to afford this, I thought it would be easier if we just shared something." Fuji removed the lid from the pot, "You don't mind?"

"Of course I don't." In fact, Tezuka felt a little guilty.

"Good. You've finally done something right." Fuji said approvingly, "Conversation is half the meal you know." He ladled food into a porcelain bowl, and handed it across the table, "Here, for you. Now, give me your bowl."

For a moment, their fingertips brushed, and Tezuka froze.

"...Tezuka?"

He smacked himself again. "Sorry."

"It's all right. Though this isn't like you." The eyes were searching, "Was the party bothering you that bad, last night?"

No. Not the party. But what had happened after had effectively kept him up all night. Even now, the taste of stale beer lingered on Tezuka's tongue. "...Not really. It's my own fault." He wondered if Fuji had known what he had been doing.

"Oh. So...how did they go?"

"My exams?"

"Duh."

"They were..." He paused, but oddly enough, Tezuka recalled nothing, "I guess...they were all right. My history exam marks are probably going to be worse than my German marks. I studied harder for German."

"Because your girlfriend's in Berlin, is that why you study so hard?"

Tezuka choked. Yes, there had been a German girl that he had admired afar. Yes, she was pretty. Yes, it had taken him two weeks to work up the courage to ask her for her name, and yes, they had went out the day before she returned to Berlin. Yes, they had promised to write, but that was way back in sophomore year and Tezuka had long since lost her address.

"She isn't my girlfriend." Tezuka felt the need to defend himself, "We stopped writing a year ago."

She wasn't Fuji.

"I'm kidding." Fuji sighed, "You really can't take a joke. Don't get so worked up about it." He paused, "You have sauce on your face."

"Where?"

Fuji paused again, and then he grinned. Reaching over, he brushed by the corner of Tezuka's mouth with one finger. "Right there."

Tezuka hastily downed the rest of his wine, hoping his head would swim.

-

They opted not to take a walk, because Tezuka still had finals the next day. But for all of today's blunders, Tezuka felt oddly content. He was content to watch Fuji's back as his friend poured himself a glass of water.

"...So." Tezuka started, rather awkwardly, again. "That was a date."

"Yes, it was a date." Fuji didn't turn, "A very enjoyable one too, right?"

Tezuka nodded. He walked a few steps so that he was beside Fuji and their shoulders brushed, "I enjoyed myself, thank you."

"Good, because it's something that we're going to do often from now on. You need to learn how to socialize. It doesn't matter how cultured or well-mannered you are, if you can't get out and take the first step, you're not going to get anywhere."

Dating Fuji often sounded nice...in theory. Although he wasn't...really. "This is the first step?"

Fuji nodded, "Yup."

Tezuka was suddenly emboldened by the dazzling smile that he was given, and he cleared his throat. "Don't people usually kiss at the end of dates?"

"Sometimes they do." Fuji looked up at him.

Tezuka couldn't bring himself to do it. He couldn't. Quickly, he turned from the sink, away from Fuji. He couldn't do this." He was going to calmly walk away. Very, very calmly...until a hand caught his wrist.

"Do you want to kiss me?"

Tezuka's heart lifted and shattered at the same time. It was an odd feeling.

"I..."

"I was going to save kissing for later." Fuji sounded amused. Amused. It was the last thing that Tezuka would have expected, "...Yuushi said I was too spontaneous and I should lead you gently in to this sort of thing. I actually am not allowed to kiss you today. But if you really wanted to...I guess we could. Do you want to?"

What was a kiss to Fuji Syusuke?

What was he to Fuji Syusuke?

Tezuka felt himself nod.

"All right."

Fuji leaned closer, and Tezuka closed his eyes. A soft pair of lips ghosted over his own. And he was reminded of last night. The lips were gone, he opened his eyes.

Fuji looked...skeptical. It was a strange face after a kiss. "Saa, I guess we have to work on kissing too. You're so stiff." And then he gave Tezuka a playful shove out of the kitchen, "Now go to sleep. You have exams tomorrow. I'll see you in the morning."


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: **Still not up to par, but I really didn't want this story to die...x.x So I worked hard, this is the showing of a two week's work, and it's mostly a filler because I think I have really lost it when it comes to writing. Still, thanks for all who are really patient, and thanks for all your kind reviews, I love you all!

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**Chapter 4**

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"So...how was it?"

Fuji smirked, although Oshitari couldn't see over the phone. "Just as bad as we expected. He asked me how I planned to afford Giovanni's. That was the first thing he asked me. I told him he was rude." He laughed, "I guess...it's very like Tezuka. He lectured me about wine too...oh, and we kissed."

"Didn't I tell you not to rush things?" Oshitari was evidently disapproving, but for all the wrong reasons. Either he was that confident in his own abilities, or he was just being very, very Oshitari. Fuji wasn't exactly sure.

"It wasn't _my_ fault." Fuji wrinkled his nose, "He wanted to."

"Really." There was obvious doubt in his boyfriend's voice.

"Yes, really." Fuji sighed, "You're insufferable, you know that?"

"I can't help it." Oshtari's laugh sounded richly over the phone, "It's why you love me, anyway." A pause, "Feel like going to sleep soon?"

Fuji snuggled deeper into his pillow, "...Mm, not yet. How'd your day go?"

"I babysat Gakuto for dinner, I'm back in the dorms now. He's really getting to be a brat." Oshitari sighed, "I don't know what I'm expected to do with him."

A smirk tugged at the edge of Fuji's lips, "Well, Gakuto-chan is your cousin, no? He's just learning what he sees, Yuushi." Mukahi Gakuto was Yuushi's twelve-year-old cousin, frequently an inconvenience in all ways possible.

A pause, "Ow."

"I'm kidding." Fuji smiled, "You're just that fun to tease."

Oshitari snorted, "I can see that. But honestly, are you sure Tezuka will be up to it? I'm always telling you not to rush things..."

"Look, you know, and I know that Ryoma's going to do something drastic one of these days, so we might as well hurry it along as we see fit. Besides..." Fuji smirked again, "This is fun, no?"

"Sometimes, I wonder about you."

That made him laugh, Tezuka had said the exact same thing, although not quite so affectionately. Which led Fuji to vaguely wonder how Tezuka would sound, when he was affectionate. He pursed his lips, "...Well, at any rate, I'm going to sleep. I promise I'll break it to him gently. Good night."

"Night."

With that, Oshtari hung up and Fuji put down his phone. He rolled over and stared idly at the ceiling. Tezuka was probably asleep by now. His roommate liked to turn in early. That thought made Fuji grin. He got up out of his own bed and went across the hall.

Tezuka always left his door unlocked when he slept.

-

Tezuka drowsed, somewhere in between waking and sleeping, it wasn't until he rolled over on his bed and hit something soft that he jerked himself from slumber. That something soft wasn't something at all. It was...

...Fuji.

Fuji Syusuke was asleep on his bed, sprawled out on his stomach with his hair mussed. He was still asleep, as far as Tezuka could tell. But how had he...last night...all sorts of thoughts that didn't have anything to do with one another were colliding against each other in his brain. At least, at the very least...Fuji was clothed.

Last night, all they did was kiss.

Once.

So how did Fuji end up in his bedroom, on his bed?

Tezuka was still pondering that, trying not to panic so much as he stared up at the ceiling. They had kissed, and Tezuka had gone off to bed, closed his door, and changed into sleepwear.

And then he had slept.

...The door.

Tezuka whipped his head over, and there it was, the door was open. So Fuji had...deliberately come in here on his own, lay down, and...

He was overthinking this.

It was too early in the morning.

Tezuka lay back down, and Fuji shifted beside him. Closer, and closer, until Tezuka could hear Fuji breathing, quite loudly. He could feel his roommate breathing too, moist and warm against the crook of his neck.

Much, much too close.

"Morning, Tezuka." Fuji spoke cheerfully, and much, much too nonchalantly.

Tezuka promptly fell off the bed in his haste to get away. He landed unceremoniously on his head, and Fuji peered over the edge of his bed, amused, "...What's with you? So uncoordinated in the morning."

There was a bump on the back of his head, and he rubbed it. "I should be asking you that. What's with you? Why are you in my bed?"

"I walked across the hall." Fuji said, brushing a stray strand of hair away from his eyes, eyes that told him too little. "It's not like I grew wings. Is your head okay?"

"But...why?" Tezuka was bewildered, something he seemed to be a lot, thanks to Fuji.

Fuji shrugged one shoulder, "Your bed is warmer than mine. You can go back to sleep for ten minutes, I'll fix your breakfast."

-

Breakfast was come and gone. For once, perhaps in honor of the English and Physics exam Tezuka had to take that day, Fuji made him something edible, warm oatmeal sprinkled with cinnamon and brown sugar. Tezuka had enjoyed it very much (even though he'd never been much of a sugar person to begin with) and he had rather...awkwardly voiced his thanks.

He was lacing his shoes, when Fuji piped up with, "Ne, Tezuka?"

"Yes?"

"Was...was last night your first kiss?"

Tezuka paused, "...What...what makes you ask that?"

Fuji grinned at him, "Nothing, go take your exams...And there's no tennis practice today, right?"

"No."

"Good. Yuushi and I are hauling you shopping today." Fuji said, "In order to make sure you're successful in all aspects of dating, you need clothes. Yuushi studies fashion, you know, so we'll need him today. So try to behave?"

Tezuka stared, clenching his teeth so that his jaw wouldn't drop. Fuji and Oshitari were actually taking this 'dating' thing seriously? In Tezuka's opinion, they were taking it too far. "My clothes are fine. Besides, I can't pay for luxuries like clothes right now." He barely had enough for his textbooks. He wasn't poor, but he didn't spend money on anything outside of necessities

"There you go with the paying and not paying thing again." Fuji sighed, "No wonder people run away from you in relationships, you're so stingy. Well, if you really want the truth, Oshitari got this grant from his professor."

"And he's using the grant to help me buy clothes?"

"You'll have to model them. But yeah, you'll get to keep the clothes when we're done."

"I don't model." Tezuka said, needing an aspirin very badly at the moment. Why did they never ask permission when they did anything?

"You will eventually, we'll teach you. I'm sure you'll catch on quick, you always do." With an air of finality, Fuji walked back into the kitchen, "Get going, you're going to be late."

-

"You're laughing at me." Tezuka scowled.

And oh, how he wished that they were in tennis practice, if they had been, the gleefully guffawing Atobe, and the inconspicuously teetering Sanada would have been assigned laps until kingdom come.

But they weren't. They were in the library, flipping textbooks on Quantum physics. "It's not funny."

"Course it's funny, even Genichirou thinks it's funny." Atobe grinned, "Genichirou never thinks anything is funny."

Tezuka sighed as Sanada forced a chuckle back and gave Atobe a shove, it was one of those little shoves that made Tezuka half sick just looking...and it didn't seem like Sanada at all. But then again, Sanada didn't seem very much like Sanada Genichirou when he was around Atobe Keigo.

Perhaps, it was doomed to be like that, and Tezuka was in too much of a straightjacket to even attempt finding out. He heaved a heavy sigh and began to put his things in order, trying not to fume.

"No, honestly, Tezuka_-kun_, don't get mad." They were only a mere three days apart, but Atobe liked being insufferable and usually tried to rub it in, his friend draped a daring arm around his shoulder and Tezuka immediately tensed. "Ore-sama agrees that it's a grand idea that Fuji and Oshitari are going out of their way to pretty you up...I think you're overdue for it anyway."

Tezuka bit his tongue, hard.

"Keigo, stop it." Sanada said, but didn't sound all that stern about it.

Atobe only nudged Tezuka on the shoulder, knowingly, "See, even Genichirou's getting jealous of you already. Don't worry, Ore-sama will make you over personally if you want--"

"_Keigo_."

"I'm just _kidding._" Atobe took his arm away and he rolled his eyes like the drama queen he was doomed to be. "You're just as dense as Tezuka sometimes..."

"Am not." Sanada said stiffily.

Tezuka was both grateful and horrified. Grateful, because when Atobe and Sanada bickered, they tended to forget about everything else—even the heads slowly turning in their direction. That gave Tezuka ample excuses to slip out of the library unnoticed. Horrified, because Atobe's mention of his name somehow meant an insult.

Atobe Keigo was doomed to run laps for the rest of his life, Tezuka would make damn sure of it.

-

In the end, Tezuka ended up being late in meeting Fuji and Oshitari. He hated being late for anything, even if the meeting was trivial and was sure not to amount to much. Although they didn't seem to really mind his lateness. They were quite preoccupied with each other on the bench, and Tezuka almost turned around and went somewhere else.

"Come on, Tezuka, do you hate us that much?" Fuji smiled innocently at him.

"No. I just wish...you could try to be decent." He said while Oshitari fixed him with an irritating smirk.

Oshitari had the nerve to say, with a nearly straight face, "Well, I was just checking if Syusuke's tonsils were still intact." Shrugging one shoulder, "It's not like I was doing anything indecent."

Tezuka wondered about that, he was no doctor, but he was pretty sure that checking the state of one's tonsils did not involve shoving a tongue down the said person's throat, but who was he to say anything?

Fuji took pity on him, "Yuushi, stop it, you're going to traumatize Tezuka."

Oshitari looked at Tezuka and blinked, "He's already traumatized...besides, he hangs out with Sanada and Atobe, and I don't see how they don't traumatize him..."

That comment earned Oshitari a cold look from Fuji, who stood up and walked to Tezuka's side, "Don't you dare put me in the same class as _Atobe_." To Tezuka, he smiled cheerily and said, "Don't mind Yuushi, he's just cranky from babysitting." His smile slipped a little, "Are you all right?"

"Yes, sort of." Tezuka was quick to add, "It's not exactly your fault."

"Good." Fuji smiled again, reaching for Tezuka's hand, he threaded it carefully through his own fingers.

"What are you doing?" Tezuka asked, feeling just a little bit strange, since Oshitari, Fuji's real boyfriend, was sitting right there.

"Syusuke, what are you doing? He's even paranoid about _holding _hands." Oshitari sighed, getting up himself and draping an arm around Fuji's shoulders, succeeding in making Tezuka feel even more awkward, because he and Fuji were still technically holding hands. The strangest thing was that Oshitari didn't exactly seem to mind.

Fuji just grinned at him again, and gave his hand a reassuring squeeze. "Tezuka just needs to get used to this type of thing, right? I mean, it's just me."

Tezuka gave Oshitari a questioning look, to ask if he minded, but the other boy only shrugged one shoulder.

"Now, come on, we have to get there before the boutique closes." Fuji pulled him along. "Yuushi went through the trouble of making you an appointment too, you should at least try to make it on time."

Oshitari just shrugged again, both shoulders this time.

Tezuka gave up, and instead, concentrated on Fuji's hand resting in his. Fuji's fingers cradled his palm and it was subtle enough for it not to be too embarrassing.

Tezuka almost managed to convince himself that he liked it.


End file.
